Draft-gear for vehicles.



No. 809,328. PATBNTED JAN. 9, 1906.

' o. SEARER.

DRAFT GEAR FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED MAR.'I, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lvihwosw N0. 809,328. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906. C. SEARER. DRAFT GEAR FORVEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.7, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN SEARER, OF VANDALTA, MICHIGAN.

DRAFT-GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed March 7,1905. Serial No. 248,864.

To all whom it may cancern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN SEARER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Vandalia, in the county of Cass and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Gears forVehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel construction of draftmeans particularly adapted for use upon heavy draft-vehicles. Themajority of heavy vehicles have draftgear of a construction suitable forattachment of double teams. 'The practical embodiment of this inventionsecures draft-gear which may be readily applied to vehicles at presentin use because of the provision of special ad.- justable attaching meansand which will admit of harnessing a single, two, three, or even moredraft animals thereto with advantageous results of obvious import tothose versed in this'art.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and alsoto acquire a knowl edge of the details of construction of the means foreffecting the result, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings.

While the invention may be adapted to different forms and conditions bychanges in the structure and minor details without departing from thespirit or essential features thereof, still the preferred embodiment isshown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of the invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. side elevation. Fig. 4is a broken transverse section on the line X X of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is aview similar to Fig. 4 on the line Y Y of Fig. 2.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

In carrying out the invention it is contem-' connected near the frontextremities thereof by a transverse bolt 3. The hounds 2 are Fig. 3 is asuitably braced by bars 4:, connected at their rear ends with the axle 1and at the front ends with the respective hounds which they reinforce.

The invention comprises, mainly, the spaced longitudinal draft-bars 5,connected together, at their rear ends by transverse draft-bars 6,

preferably two in number. The bars 6 are secured to the bars 5 bysubstantial fastenings, so as to afford a rigid structure. Extendingrearwardly from the bars 6. between the ends thereof, are arrangedspaced hounds 7, which are secured to the bounds 2 of the running-gearof the vehicle. The bolt 3 is adapted. to pass through the hounds 7 ofthe draft device in order to attach said hounds 7 to the hounds 2.

To facilitate the application of the invention to vehicles of differentsizes, wherein the hounds 2 are arranged at different distances apart,the members 7 are adjustably mounted upon the bars 6, and for thispurpose the bars 6 are provided with elongated openings 8, through whichthe fastening-bolts 9, by which the bars 6 are secured to the hounds '7,pass. The arrangement of the bounds 7 is such, together withtheconstruction of the bars 6 and attaching means for these parts, thatthe distance between the ends of the hounds 7 may be varied byadjustment of these members relative to each other. In other words, op-.posite ends of the hounds 7 may be forced together or apart a sufficientdistance to admit of adjustment of these elements to the hounds 2 ofvarious-sized vehicles. The means for ad justably securing the hounds 7together comprises, primarily, lateral end plates 10, located atopposite ends of each of the hounds 7. The end plates 10 are preferablyangular extensions of longitudinal plates 11, secured to the outer sidesof the hounds 7. The end portions of the plates 10 are adapted tooverlap and are provided with longitudinal slots 12, through which asuitable fastening 13 passes. The overlapping portions of the members 10have the adjacent sides thereof roughened or toothed, as shown at 14, sothat when the fastening 18 is tightened the toothed or roughenedportions 14 of the plates 10 will be forced together and afford aninterlocking connection between the plates, obviating all likelihood ofplay or movement of the hounds 7 relative to each other. It will beobvious that the plates 10 may be secured to the hounds 7 in anysuitable manner, the construction illustrated being one of the variousadaptations of the invention with reference to this feature.

To increase the rigidity of the connection between the draft-gear andthe axle l, it is preferred to use substantial connections between therearmost of the bars 6 and the axle l. The connections aforesaid areadjustable and comprise hook-bars 15, provided with hooks 16 at one endfor connection with a hook or like member 17, projected from the axle 1.The opposite ends of the hook-bars 15 are connected. with rings 18 bymeans of adjusting-bolts 19. The rings or links 18 have threadedopenings therein, through which the bolts 19 pass, and said bolts 19 maybe adjusted so as to take up any looseness and brace the draft-gear in amanner which will be readily apparent.

The arrangement of the draft-bars 5 is such that the vehicle may bedrawn by a single animal hitched between said bars 5; but the inventionis particularly designed to enable the vehicle to be drawn by threehorses. In this instance a single animal would be hitched between thebars 5 with the other two animals upon opposite sides of the draft-gear.When three horses are hitched to the draft-gear, as describedhereinbefore, it is designed to use a suitable three-horse evener, whichwould be connected with the outer transverse draft-bar 6, a suitableattaching-bolt 20 and plate 21 being provided for this purpose. Theplate 21 extends upwardly and forwardly from the rearmost of the bars 6,and the main bar of the evener would be received between this plate andthe outer transverse bar 6, as above described. The form of the eveneris not essential,since any type of equalizer may be utilized, and if thedraft-gear is used with five animals a five-horse evener of approvedconstruction would be used.

A feature ofv the invention resides in the provision of an evenerneck-yoke adapted for attachment to the draft-gear, and this neckyokeconsists of a main or central yoke-bar 22, having rings 23 dependingtherefrom to receive the front extremities of the longitudinaldraft-bars 5. The bar 22 is prevented from displacement from the bars 5by means of spring-catches 24, which are secured to the forward ends ofthe bars 5 and which are arranged to engage the rings 23 aforesaid.Short yoke-bars 25 are connected with the end portions of the mainyoke-bar 22, and the adjacent extremities of the bars 25 are connectedby a member 26. The several bars 22 and 25 will be provided withsuitable means for attaching the draft-animals in any approved manner.

embodying a longitudinal draft-bar, a transversedraft-bar, spaced houndsprojected from the transverse draft-bar for attachment to the axle, andconnections between the end portion of the transverse draft-bar and theaxle.

3. The combination of an axle, draft-gear embodying a longitudinaldraft-bar, a transverse draft-bar, spaced hounds projected from thetransverse draft-bar for attachment to the axle, and adjustableconnections between the end portions of the transverse draft-bar and theaxle.

4:. The combination of an axle, spaced longitudinal draft-bars, atransverse draft-bar connecting said longitudinal draft-bars, connectingmeans between the transverse draftbar and the axle, an equalizing yokedevice comprising a main yoke-bar attached to the longitudinaldraft-bars, and short yoke-bars carried by the main yoke-bar.

5. The combination of spaced longitudinal draft-bars, a transversedraft-bar connecting the longitudinal draft-bars, an axle, spaced houndsprojected from the transverse draftbar and connected with the axle, andadjustable connections between the spaced hounds at opposite endsthereof.

6. The combination of spaced longitudinal draft-bars, a transversedraft-bar connecting the longitudinal draftbars, an axle, spaced houndsprojected from the transverse draftbar and connected between the endstherewith, and adjustable connections between the opposite ends of thespaced hounds and com: prising overlapping members.

7. The combination of an axle, spaced longitudinal draft-bars, spacedtransverse draftbars, spaced hounds extending from the transversedraftbars and adjustably connected therewith, adj ustable connectionsbetween opposite ends of the spaced hounds aforesaid, hounds projectedfrom the axle and connected with the spaced hounds aforesaid, and takeupconnections between the opposite ends of one of the transversedraft-bars and the axle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN SEARER. [L. s.]

l/Vitnessesz M. A. BROWN, M. R. MERRITT.

